"Gear gets in the way if it becomes your focus" - Derek Trucks

[Van*]

mga masters sa tone post naman kayo ng mga soundclips nyo??

this

[bluesboy1216]

Decent Amp + Decent Guitar and everything else is in your hands..aint need no darn effects when you play straight blues..kung techno tugtugan prob yan. 

[mikomiko]

Decent Amp + Decent Guitar and everything else is in your hands..aint need no darn effects when you play straight blues..kung techno tugtugan prob yan. 

+1 blues master

[bluenote]

Here I was jamming with tutti, I just borrowed someone's guitar, a yamaha with floyrose which I usualy wouldn't touch on a good day plugged directly to a little cheap O' amp... I didn't even have time to fine tune my sound but all in all I think it sounded quite good in fact watching the video again made me think that it actually sounded bitchin'... watcha think ya'll? yes we are picky on what gear we use but really its just because of personal preference... Like the clothes that you wear or the kind of watch that you use... I think great players like Derek Trucks would still sound phenomenal no matter what gear they use... And to those that think that you cant do variety without any effects, think again, I played variety from 1994 to 2008 for such notable bands as BIG Thing, Vanna-Vanna, NXT Level and Natural High, believe me you can... Ive survived gigs with just drive and reverb from an amp...  

sample ng variety gig with no effects...

[fusionenigma]

Here I was jamming with tutti, I just borrowed someone's guitar, a yamaha with floyrose which I usualy wouldn't touch on a good day plugged directly to a little cheap O' amp... I didn't even have time to fine tune my sound but all in all I think it sounded quite good in fact watching the video again made me think that it actually sounded bitchin'... watcha think ya'll? yes we are picky on what gear we use but really its just because of personal preference... Like the clothes that you wear or the kind of watch that you use... I think great players like Derek Trucks would still sound phenomenal no matter what gear they use... And to those that think that you cant do variety without any effects, think again, I played variety from 1994 to 2008 for such notable bands as BIG Thing, Vanna-Vanna, NXT Level and Natural High, believe me you can... Ive survived gigs with just drive and reverb from an amp...  

sample ng variety gig with no effects...

i believe... 

[rednas]

Lots of insights here.  Pero ang most important thing is this: Talk is cheap - let your guitar do the talking when it comes to Tone discussions .  Galing ni Bluenote.

[skunkyfunk]

Sometimes I don't get it.

1.  Badly-recrowned frets get in the way.
2.  Warped necks get in the way.
3.  Undesirable action gets in the way.
4.  Unclear notes get in the way.
5.  Being buried in the mix (due to lack of cut or volume) gets in the way.
6.  Harsh sounds get in the way.
7.  Uncomfortable necks get in the way.
8.  Farty amps get in the way.
9.  Bad cables get in the way.
10.  Tone sucking gets in the way.
11.  Bad acoustics get in the way.

.
.
.

Anything bad exhibited by your instrument/rig like the manifestations listed above are a result of poor choices in gear.  It is not enough that you are playing onstage, THE AUDIENCE MUST BE ABLE TO HEAR YOU.  In a recording situation it is much more stringent because flaws in your tone are repeated X times the number of playbacks.  

IMO, it is all about setting a bare minimum that conforms to a certain standard that serves the music perfectly.  

[deltaslim]

"Too bad for those 2 guys but it's still ONLY an opinion from 2 people, no matter which magazine it comes from."

Your quote.... Its easy for you to dismiss people as opinions and I guess there are no experts...  And then I would say, DEREK TRUCKS statement is just an opinion.  But nope... I will never do that because I recognize him as a fantastic slide player that you are aspiring to maybe equal some day.  In fact, I bought an original CD and DVD of Derek Trucks and I have never downloaded anything from Derek Trucks because I respect his right to earn money for his music.  

I'm sorry that you've never heard of the phenomenon of 'tapers' and 'taper-friendly' bands, which includes Derek Trucks Band and even older bands like Grateful Dead.  Their live concerts since the 90s have been recorded by multiple independent 'tapers' and shared LEGALLY and non-commercially through a community website under open source rules. These bands rightly believe that the taping community enhances their marketing power and sales from concerts and recordings. Btw, I have their dvd, so yes I can afford to buy their music too.

I don't what you are referring to but I didn't dismiss those 2 so-called "experts" opinions. I simply offered a theory, as others did, on why they might have had a lousy experience. You are the one who keeps singling me out and misquoting and misrepresenting my own opinions.

Oh well... same old, same old.

[bluenote]

I'm sorry that you've never heard of the phenomenon of 'tapers' and 'taper-friendly' bands, which includes Derek Trucks Band and even older bands like Grateful Dead.  Their live concerts since the 90s have been recorded by multiple independent 'tapers' and shared LEGALLY and non-commercially through a community website under open source rules. These bands rightly believe that the taping community enhances their marketing power and sales from concerts and recordings. Btw, I have their dvd, so yes I can afford to buy their music too.

I don't what you are referring to but I didn't dismiss those 2 so-called "experts" opinions. I simply offered a theory, as others did, on why they might have had a lousy experience. You are the one who keeps singling me out and misquoting and misrepresenting my own opinions.

Oh well... same old, same old.

yun na mismo same old same old! 

[bluenote]

Lots of insights here.  Pero ang most important thing is this: Talk is cheap - let your guitar do the talking when it comes to Tone discussions .  Galing ni Bluenote.

tenk u 

[ermonski]

EQUIPMENT is not complete without "U" ...

ang keso niyan pre!

[erniebong]

Here I was jamming with tutti, I just borrowed someone's guitar, a yamaha with floyrose which I usualy wouldn't touch on a good day plugged directly to a little cheap O' amp... I didn't even have time to fine tune my sound but all in all I think it sounded quite good in fact watching the video again made me think that it actually sounded bitchin'... watcha think ya'll? yes we are picky on what gear we use but really its just because of personal preference... Like the clothes that you wear or the kind of watch that you use... I think great players like Derek Trucks would still sound phenomenal no matter what gear they use... And to those that think that you cant do variety without any effects, think again, I played variety from 1994 to 2008 for such notable bands as BIG Thing, Vanna-Vanna, NXT Level and Natural High, believe me you can... Ive survived gigs with just drive and reverb from an amp...  

sample ng variety gig with no effects...

yun yun oh....

at the end of the day plug and play ka pa rin diba?

[bluenote]

yun yun oh....

at the end of the day plug and play ka pa rin diba?

yun na mismo... kaya nga I believe that tone is in the ears... everything will adjust pati technique pag pangit ang nadidinig mo magcocompensate ang kalabit at patunog....

[pitongjerome]

sa nakontra kay DT sabihin niyo nalang yan sakanya ang mga sinasabi niyo ehehe

[skunkyfunk]

I hope I won't get ragged by the senyors here in the gigging industry, particularly those who do 3 sets a night of covers, 50% of which they ciphered the night before.  I respect you, and I am proud that you are so-called HUMAN JUKEBOXES. 

But here's my gripe... just because you have the talent (I repeat, YOU have the talent), it doesn't mean that you have the tone.  Oftentimes, when I come across a showband/coverband guitarplayer who tries to mimic old and new repertoire on a crappy Marshall MG30 or Fender Princeton 65 onstage, my impression would always be "Wow, he has the fingers, but   his tone sucks because of the friggin' amp..."  And to compensate for that, you hear a lot of compression in the tone.  Thank God digital modelling has made it much less ear-stabbing in the distortion department compared to  the days of stomps through SS amps that sounded like a swarm of bees. 

Experience pretty much trains a guitarplayer how to adjust to the gear (whatever is there onstage) and how to dial in sounds to least unacceptable standards.  But don't claim that because you can do that, you have great tone.  Maybe the better way to interpret your skill is, you know how to OPTIMIZE the gear onstage.

Say you plugged through a crappy Marshall MG30, and had a lagare to Ratsky (uy that was so 10 years ago) where you plug to a Twin Reverb, you'd notice a huge improvement in your tone compared to the MG30. 

So the be-all and end-all is, THE WHOLE SIGNAL CHAIN MATTERS.  Player-->gtr-->-->fx-->AMP*   *often neglected. 

[pitongjerome]

hindi naman niya siguro sinasabi na play thru crappy stuff.. maybe he says na play through a decent guitar and effects that sounds good.. need not to be the best and the most expensive.. and then, let your playing do the rest..

[badbach66]

I hope I won't get ragged by the senyors here in the gigging industry, particularly those who do 3 sets a night of covers, 50% of which they ciphered the night before.  I respect you, and I am proud that you are so-called HUMAN JUKEBOXES. 

But here's my gripe... just because you have the talent (I repeat, YOU have the talent), it doesn't mean that you have the tone.  Oftentimes, when I come across a showband/coverband guitarplayer who tries to mimic old and new repertoire on a crappy Marshall MG30 or Fender Princeton 65 onstage, my impression would always be "Wow, he has the fingers, but   his tone sucks because of the friggin' amp..."  And to compensate for that, you hear a lot of compression in the tone.  Thank God digital modelling has made it much less ear-stabbing in the distortion department compared to  the days of stomps through SS amps that sounded like a swarm of bees. 

Experience pretty much trains a guitarplayer how to adjust to the gear (whatever is there onstage) and how to dial in sounds to least unacceptable standards.  But don't claim that because you can do that, you have great tone.  Maybe the better way to interpret your skill is, you know how to OPTIMIZE the gear onstage.

Say you plugged through a crappy Marshall MG30, and had a lagare to Ratsky (uy that was so 10 years ago) where you plug to a Twin Reverb, you'd notice a huge improvement in your tone compared to the MG30. 

So the be-all and end-all is, THE WHOLE SIGNAL CHAIN MATTERS.  Player-->gtr-->-->fx-->AMP*   *often neglected.

I remember, about 5 years ago we used to play this venue here in Bulacan with a Peavy Bandit 112 amp. God I hated that thing. I'd get to the venue 1-2 hours earlier before our set so I could tweak my sound, then spend the rest of the night during our set bending over in the middle of a song to tweak my sound some more. It's hard to compensate for a sh**ty amp..

[badbach66]

I'm sorry that you've never heard of the phenomenon of 'tapers' and 'taper-friendly' bands, which includes Derek Trucks Band and even older bands like Grateful Dead.  Their live concerts since the 90s have been recorded by multiple independent 'tapers' and shared LEGALLY and non-commercially through a community website under open source rules. These bands rightly believe that the taping community enhances their marketing power and sales from concerts and recordings. Btw, I have their dvd, so yes I can afford to buy their music too.

I don't what you are referring to but I didn't dismiss those 2 so-called "experts" opinions. I simply offered a theory, as others did, on why they might have had a lousy experience. You are the one who keeps singling me out and misquoting and misrepresenting my own opinions.

Oh well... same old, same old.

LMFAO!

[erniebong]

I think another implication of DT's statement is.... (duh) of course you get yourself a proper signal chain that you would be comfortable enough to translate the music you hear in your head.... be it a complex pedal board or a straight-up setup.... but the heart of it all is the music you hear in your head.... without that theres noting....  that should be your primary focus.... focusing on gear without having a clear idea of the music in your head is just a trip to the rabbit hole.  if you have that music clear in your head you can be able to translate it with whatever gear you have (or what to have) in the physical realm. So what if the gadget or electronic piece needed to achieve the sound in your head is not yet invented? will it be a dead end for you in terms of playing or making music? .... in this regard we find jimi hendrix to be the greatest electric guitar player ever..... night in night out... he plays and puts out hendrix show... sometimes with a number of pedals sometimes straight up... but still its a jimi show. .... "Plug and Play"... in the words of Zappa..." shut up and play yer guitar"

"skill is not in the gear...its in the player...the quality of gear augments it (to various degrees)"

i guess not realizing this is the single most reason why we chronically find threads that says something like "ano mas magandang FX"  

most of the best written songs since the incarnation of radio... can be played with just an acoustic guitar or a piano and still sound good when stripped down.... yes even most of U2's songs which we all know most of which are FX/Gear driven.

[badbach66]

Yup..gear, no matter how expensive it is,is only a means to an end..

[bluenote]

I hope I won't get ragged by the senyors here in the gigging industry, particularly those who do 3 sets a night of covers, 50% of which they ciphered the night before.  I respect you, and I am proud that you are so-called HUMAN JUKEBOXES.  

But here's my gripe... just because you have the talent (I repeat, YOU have the talent), it doesn't mean that you have the tone.  Oftentimes, when I come across a showband/coverband guitarplayer who tries to mimic old and new repertoire on a crappy Marshall MG30 or Fender Princeton 65 onstage, my impression would always be "Wow, he has the fingers, but   his tone sucks because of the friggin' amp..."  And to compensate for that, you hear a lot of compression in the tone.  Thank God digital modelling has made it much less ear-stabbing in the distortion department compared to  the days of stomps through SS amps that sounded like a swarm of bees.  

Experience pretty much trains a guitarplayer how to adjust to the gear (whatever is there onstage) and how to dial in sounds to least unacceptable standards.  But don't claim that because you can do that, you have great tone.  Maybe the better way to interpret your skill is, you know how to OPTIMIZE the gear onstage.


Say you plugged through a crappy Marshall MG30, and had a lagare to Ratsky (uy that was so 10 years ago) where you plug to a Twin Reverb, you'd notice a huge improvement in your tone compared to the MG30.  

So the be-all and end-all is, THE WHOLE SIGNAL CHAIN MATTERS.  Player-->gtr-->-->fx-->AMP*   *often neglected.  

Oh yes madami nga sa pop scene ang d maganda ang tone but the same goes for the underground scene may pag kakaiba ba? As Ive said tone is a very subjective thing... You may say that most pop guys sound too compressed and is too wet but that is just because most pop guitar stuff are meant to sound that way, like the way the guitar sounds on David Benoit’s Key to You… Would you believe that I’ve done a gig with just a Marshall micro stack amp? I did kasi walang amp dun sa venue kaya nilagay ko yung amp sa loob ng isang bag tapos naka mic lang sha dun parang isolation box tapos pinalabas ko lang yung sound sa monitors ok din naman tunog nung tinanong ko sa mga tropa na nanonood nagulat nga daw sila nay un lang ang ginamit ko…    In my time sa ratsky wala naman akong nagamit na MG30 nun ah… Marshall na JCM900 2x12 ang amp nila nuon dun…

[bluenote]

I remember, about 5 years ago we used to play this venue here in Bulacan with a Peavy Bandit 112 amp. God I hated that thing. I'd get to the venue 1-2 hours earlier before our set so I could tweak my sound, then spend the rest of the night during our set bending over in the middle of a song to tweak my sound some more. It's hard to compensate for a sh**ty amp..

baka sira lang yung nagamit mo... kasi ako ok sakin ang bandit 112 eh...

[Letour]

I hope I won't get ragged by the senyors here in the gigging industry, particularly those who do 3 sets a night of covers, 50% of which they ciphered the night before.  I respect you, and I am proud that you are so-called HUMAN JUKEBOXES. 

But here's my gripe... just because you have the talent (I repeat, YOU have the talent), it doesn't mean that you have the tone.  Oftentimes, when I come across a showband/coverband guitarplayer who tries to mimic old and new repertoire on a crappy Marshall MG30 or Fender Princeton 65 onstage, my impression would always be "Wow, he has the fingers, but   his tone sucks because of the friggin' amp..."  And to compensate for that, you hear a lot of compression in the tone.  Thank God digital modelling has made it much less ear-stabbing in the distortion department compared to  the days of stomps through SS amps that sounded like a swarm of bees. 

Experience pretty much trains a guitarplayer how to adjust to the gear (whatever is there onstage) and how to dial in sounds to least unacceptable standards.  But don't claim that because you can do that, you have great tone.  Maybe the better way to interpret your skill is, you know how to OPTIMIZE the gear onstage.

Say you plugged through a crappy Marshall MG30, and had a lagare to Ratsky (uy that was so 10 years ago) where you plug to a Twin Reverb, you'd notice a huge improvement in your tone compared to the MG30. 

So the be-all and end-all is, THE WHOLE SIGNAL CHAIN MATTERS.  Player-->gtr-->-->fx-->AMP*   *often neglected. 

Hey, I have a Princeton 65. And I love it. It gives me the Fender Clean which almost everyone might like or have liked or may like. And the gain channel coupled with the 3 band eq gives me several options from blues to metal.

Of course, this post has nothing to do with the topic because DT doesn't use Princeton 65. I still looking for the honey roasted "nut" though.

Peace 

[monsterbot]

sino mga nakapanood ng "Never Ending Story" ?

[skunkyfunk]

Oh yes madami nga sa pop scene ang d maganda ang tone but the same goes for the underground scene may pag kakaiba ba? As Ive said tone is a very subjective thing... You may say that most pop guys sound too compressed and is too wet but that is just because most pop guitar stuff are meant to sound that way, like the way the guitar sounds on David Benoit’s Key to You… Would you believe that I’ve done a gig with just a Marshall micro stack amp? I did kasi walang amp dun sa venue kaya nilagay ko yung amp sa loob ng isang bag tapos naka mic lang sha dun parang isolation box tapos pinalabas ko lang yung sound sa monitors ok din naman tunog nung tinanong ko sa mga tropa na nanonood nagulat nga daw sila nay un lang ang ginamit ko…    In my time sa ratsky wala naman akong nagamit na MG30 nun ah… Marshall na JCM900 2x12 ang amp nila nuon dun…

I saw a Twin Reverb there in Ratsky Morato...

Ditto na marami ring rock gigs na pinapatay ang tenga ko pagdating sa tone, pero ang major difference is maturity.  Pag nakakita ako ng teenagers na tunog bandsaw ang gitara, naiintindihan ko kung bakit.  Di gaanong problema ang timplahan sa mga may experience na gitarista. 

When I said COMPRESSED ang tunog, it simply means the gain/distortion and the clipping nature of the fx pedals through a harsh-sounding SS-amp with the treble attenuated yields this tone. 

And one thing about PAs... no amount of 'timpla' through a pocket amp can save you if the PA is gawdawful especially without monitors.